International Space Station Visible in the Night Sky

[trysail]

http://media.npr.org/assets/img/2011/04/20/iss-2007_custom.jpg?t=1303336423&s=3
A remarkable view of the International Space Station (and the Space Shuttle Atlantis,
just left of center), taken from the Clay Center Observatory.


​

Now's The Time To See The Space Station, And Here's How To Do It
by Eyder Peralta

For the next two weeks, the International Space Station will be one the brightest objects in the sky.

"It outshines all the stars, all the planets but Venus and actually gives Venus a run for its money..."

...if you want to get in on the action, you have to be prepared: the sightings last about a minute because the ISS is speeding at five miles per second. That lets it travel around the Earth in 90 minutes.

Beatty says it's worth the effort, though. Using simple binoculars, he said, you'll be able to make out the shape, because right now, the ISS is huge. It's now complete — all the pieces are where they should be — making it a shiny reflective object that's the size of a football field.

There's also no mistaking it, said Beatty. "The motion is very stately," he said. "You wouldn't mistake it for a meteor, because a meteor is just a momentary flash; you wouldn't mistake it for a plane, because they have blinking lights. Right now, it's a slam dunk to spot the Space Station."

OK, so how can you spot it? Beatty sent over three websites that let you input your city or zipcode and they spit out where and when to look:

http://spaceflight.nasa.gov/realdata/sightings/index.html

more...

http://www.npr.org/blogs/thetwo-way...-see-the-space-station-and-heres-how-to-do-it

 

[Stella_Omega]

Sweet! Thanks for this one, Trysail.

 

[Dual_Triode]

Spectacular!

Damn, those NASA boys are good. It appeared at the predicted location and time. I waved. The crew waved back. Really!

 

[stephen55]

It's been cloudy at night in my neck of the woods recently, but tonight looks like it's going to be clear. So I'll go outside, shoe away the spring bears and have a look. The ISS will be overhead in about half an hour.

Even if I miss the ISS up in the sky, I can always get a look at a big bear and a little bear.

 

[voluptuary_manque]

Fascinating! Now if only the sky will stay clear . . .

 

[stephen55]

Wowie zowie!!

Right on time and right where NASA said it would be.

Of course, it's hard to miss an object that bright, going that fast against the background stars.

I waved but the space cadets on board the ISS obviously were asleep!